Required reading in a women's studies class. I hated this book. I think the author's bias totally colored her interpretation of artifact. ( )

There is so much guesswork in evaluating prehistoric culture practices that it’s hard to take any one theory seriously. ‘Plausible’ seems like the strongest conclusion that can be drawn. Hard to stay interested as the theories get more and more complex.

The premise of The Chalice and the Blade is intriguing: author Riane Eisner posits that there were peaceful, egalitarian, Goddess-worshiping cultures before recorded history, but these exemplary societies were wiped out by cruel, male-dominated hordes that worshiped warlike, masculine gods. Eisner relies on a few archaeologists and a lot of conjecture to make her case. She equates Goddess worship with elevated status for women, and ignores examples from non-Western cultures such as Japan, China, and India, where goddesses are venerated but the position of actual women is low.

I don’t have enough knowledge of ancient civilizations to refute Eisner's thesis, but it seems to me to be oversimplified and based on too many unsupported assumptions and generalizations. If I had read this book as an idealistic young adult, I would have eaten it up, but now it just doesn't ring true to me. ( )

The Chalice and the Blade (1988)

This Review is an Outline of her Introduction. The Author, Riane Eisler, provides a self-disclosure of her lifelong quest: Why do we persecute each other? We alone can imagine and realize new realities, and so are partners in our own evolution. [xiv] New study of human society, taking into account, the entireties. New story of our "cultural origins", verifying that "a better future is possible"--based on what has actually happened in the past. Archeology. She explores caves!

"The story of Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection bears a striking resemblance to those of earlier 'mystery cults' revolving around a divine Mother and her son...or daughter" as in Demeter and Kore. [xvi]. [Eleusinia, Delphos].

"When our ancestors began to ask the eternal questions (Where do we come from before we are born? Where do we go after we die?), they must have noted that life emerges from the body of a woman." [xvi]

From re-examining human society from a gender-holistic perspective, Eisler sees that a new theory of cultural evolution is necessary, which she calls "Cultural Transformation theory, with two basic models: (1) Dominator -- involves ranking humanity, (2) Partnership--in which linking is the principle. "In this model--beginning with the most fundamental difference in our species, between male and female--diversity is not equated with either inferiority or superiority."

We now stand at a "potentially decisive branching point. At a time when the lethal power of the Blade--amplified a millionfold by megatons of nuclear warheads--threatens to put an end to all human culture…". [xviii] The root of the problem lies in a social system in which the power of the Blade is idealized and elevated. We have subordinated things associated with women, and made ourselves ignorant of half of humanity. For example, from this Dominant paradigm, we treat Hitler's Reich, Khomeini's Iran, Samurai Japan, and the Aztecs of MesoAmerica as radically different. From the perspective of Transformation theory, which identifies configuration patterns of rigidly male-dominated societies, we see striking commonalities. [xix]

Conversely, certain sexually equalitarian societies also reveal arresting similarities across diversity. For example, Partnership societies like the BaMbuti, and the !Kung, and even Sweden, are examples. Movements for social justice are part of an underlying thrust for transformation of a dominator to a partnership system. "These movements may be seen as part of our species' evolutionary thrust for survival." [xx]

"We stand again at a cross-road. The roots of our present global crises go back to the fundamental shift in our prehistory that brought enormous changes not only in social structure but also in technology." [xx]

Notes that Eldredge and Gould proposed that evolution is not a gradual upward line shift, but stages of "long stretches of equilibrium, or lack of major change, punctuated by evolutionary branching or bifurcation points". [xxii] Chaos theory runs parallel to Transformation. Feminist scholarship contributes to a holistic study of cultural evolution, providing missing data. Lists notables, including Aphra Behn (1640-1689), for an "emerging body of data and insight" provided by women, like "chaos" theory, opening new frontiers for science. [xxiii]

The Chapters explore "the roots of--and paths to-- the future." The story begins before written history, shows how the original partnership direction of Western culture "veered off into a bloody five-thousand-year dominator detour". The domination model cannot solve the problems it has created. As co-creators, it is not too late for us to choose another course. She proposes new ways of structuring politics, economics, science, and spirituality to reflect a "partnership world". ( )

When I read this it was my first encounter with revisionist feminist anthropology. Eisler makes the case women and men enjoyed equal status in Neolithic times. To support her thesis she looks at designs on ancient pottery and cave drawings. Maybe as a layperson unfamiliar with her field of study and that of her critics, I can more easily accept her theories since I don't have a vested interest in protecting any similar scholarship, as tends to happen in academic circles. Her theories are refreshing and encouraging and support the refreshing notion that women haven't always been subjugated by men but were at one time actually revered and respected. ( )